Live Through This, Part One
is the first issue of Angel & Faith Season Nine comic book series. Joss Whedon is the executive producer. Synopsis Left in a near-catatonic state following the events in Buffy Season 8, Angel will need a seriously rude awakening if he's to make amends for his ill-conceived deeds. Enter rebel Slayer with a cause – Faith Lehane. Together they'll have full access to the Watcher files and opportunities to make amends for all they've done… and will do.https://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/18-152/ Summary In his journals, Giles had recorded magic fight with a demon who was possessing a little girl. During the battle, Giles pondered the question that people seemed to frequently ask him, concerning as to why he didn't have children. Determining that "other people's children are quite enough," Giles selflessly sacrificed an important part of his life in order to anchor a spell to bind the demon until he could completely vanquish it. After promising the girl's mother, Anne, that he would return, Giles then discussed the unspoken purposes of the Watcher's files, saying that "So, that when the end comes for me, others might have the information they need to take up the burden. May God have mercy on their souls." Years later, Faith and Angel are now fighting the same demon. While Faith is telling herself that Angel could do this, Angel is doubting himself. However, once the demon says something about Angel's "master," meaning Giles, Angel vamps out and bites the little girl in order to convince the demon that he's killing its host so that it leaves the girl. Faith and Angel then hack away at the demon until Angel destroys its brain – consequently causing the sacrifice that Giles made to spill out and bathe Angel in the memory of the day that Giles fell in love with Jenny Calendar. Angel becomes overwhelmed and has flashbacks to when he killed Jenny as well as when he killed Giles himself. But the demon is dead and the mother and child come back into the room. Angel and Faith tell Anne that the job is done. Angel apologizes for biting her daughter and explains why he had to do it. Anne assumes that Giles sent them, stating that she knew that he wouldn't just forget about her and her situation. While Angel hesitates, Faith confirmes this. On the way from the house, Angel reveals he felt bad telling Anne that they were sent by Giles, but Faith tells Angel that it was the right thing to say, for the mother's sake. Faith then questions as to why Angel was catatonic one minute, being read the Watcher's Diaries by her, and in the next minute, he was in his "helping the helpless" clothes. She then asks Angel if he's going to go 'spacey' again now that the job that roused him from his catatonic state is over. He says no and that he can get home on his own, while she has places to be. A young British woman named Nadira is attacked while walking in the street. She's a Slayer, however, and defends herself, nearly staking her attacker, who turns out to be Faith testing her reflexes. Nadira is angry. They head to a club together, and Faith coaxes her to talk about the death of her squad. Nadira tells her they were thirty Slayers training in the Azores, all of whom she considered her family, adding that she would've died for them, and should have. Nadira had pulled guard duty but never saw their attackers coming. The attackers were Pearl and Nash, who were not only having fun, but grew more excited, and shinier as they killed more of them. And their boss, Twilight, was with them, watching. Nadira adds that she almost died and that Willow found her and healed her. She didn't tell Faith about it before now because she'd heard things about her relationship with Buffy, and Buffy's relationship with Angel. Nadira has mixed feelings about Buffy, acknowledging that she has probably already been punished enough, as she's gone from 'Slayer in chief' to waitress. Then, she adds that she wanted to give up and die, but Faith showed her life wasn't over and she's in Faith's debt. Thus Faith should know she wants to find the bastards who killed her sisters as well as Angel, and kill them all. Faith keeps her emotions to herself, takes a drink and notes they all gotta dream. Elsewhere, Whistler is doing his 'big moments' speech at a bar. He exclaims that he was about maintaining balance, and that because Earth had been cut off from the mystical dimensions, he can't contact The Powers That Be, his precognitive abilities are gone, and that it's Angel's fault for blowing off what Whistler told him. He asks his audience to help him because the world still needs to evolve; it's dead but doesn't know it yet, and someone needs to do a lot of ugly damage to save them all. Whistler said that it wouldn't be easy, and they would probably have to go up against Angel. He hands a beer to someone whose hand is drenched in blood. It is Nash, alongside Pearl, who have massacred all of the patrons in the bar. The duo accepts Whistler's proposition for the sake of bringing in the next stage of evolution and getting payback on their old boss. Back at Giles' flat, Angel and Faith are arguing about what Nadira told Faith. Angel says that he did enlist Pearl and Nash as a part of his plan to bring the bad guys together and focus them so that Buffy could stay strong. He was doing it, he says, to keep the world from going to Hell like L.A. did - which apparently no one remembers but him. Angel explains that Pearl and Nash are the spawn of a demon and human woman, and that the two worshipped Twilight as a god, having been told by their mother that they were the "Adam and Eve" of the next step of evolution. Angel says that he tried to keep Nash and Pearl contained, but couldn't because they feed off pain. Angel then reveals that there were times that he was more under Twilight's influence than others, which affects his memories. However, when Faith offers up an excuse that it wasn't him, he claims the fault is still with him because he didn't ask the questions he should have or take whatever chances he had to think about what he was doing. He tells Faith that he was weak, and claims that he has more death on his conscience than Angelus ever did. Faith tells Angel that it's nice of him pick up the ball for Giles, but that he has to stop obsessing over every detail of Giles' life if he wants to take his place. Angel replies that he could never take his place... But he is going to bring Giles back to life. Continuity *According to Faith, Angel suddenly wakes up from the catatonic stated he was, as seen in Last Gleaming, Part Five. *Angel receives Giles's memories of the date when he fell in love with Jenny Calendar; which happened anytime between episodes "Lie to Me," when they had their first date, and "Passion," when she died. *Jenny Calendar's death in "Passion," and Giles's in ''Last Gleaming, Part Four'', both having their neck snapped by Angel, appear as a flashback. *Nadira reveals to be saved by Willow, who was seeking for Slayers around the world in Twilight, Part One. *Nadira comments on Buffy cutting Earth off magic realms and becoming a waitress, as seen in Last Gleaming, Part Five. *Whistler repeats his monologue from "Becoming, Part One". He also said Angel didn't go along with his plan, shown in Riley: Commitment Through Distance, Virtue Through Sin. *Angel mentions to Faith the time Los Angeles went to Hell, from "Angel: After the Fall." Appearances Individuals *Angel *Faith Lehane *Nadira *Pearl *Nash *Hannah *Anne *Whistler *Daphne *Rupert Giles (Only in flashbacks and a photograph) *Jenny Calendar *Sophronia Fairweather (Only in a photograph) *Lavinia Fairweather (Only in a photograph) *Buffy Summers *Willow Rosenberg *Twilight Organizations and Titles *Slayer *Slayer Organization *Twilight Group *The Powers That Be Species *Vampire *Human *Half-demon *Plagiarus Demon Events *End of magic Locations *London, England **Anne and Hanna's house **Rupert Giles's residence *Sunnydale, USA **Sunnydale High School **Seed of Wonder's cave *Azores, Portugal Weapons and Objects * Exorcism * Binding spell * Watcher files * Stake * Axe Death Count * One Plagiarus Demon, killed by Angel and Faith. * Jenny Calendar, neck snapped by Angel (in flashback). * Rupert Giles, neck snapped by Angel possessed by Twilight (in flashback). * About thirty Slayers, killed by Pearl and Nash (in flashback). * Unknown number of people, killed by Pearl and Nash. Behind the Scenes Trivia *Georges Jeanty's anniversary variant cover, celebrating Dark Horse Comics 25 years, is an homage to the splash page from Will Eisner's The Spirit (November 30, 1947). *This issue has an exclusive cover for New England Comic Retailer Alliance signing tour, by artist Rebekah Isaacs and colorist Dan Jackson. *Angel tells Faith he is the only one who remembers the events of the fall of Los Angeles, even though it was made clear in the last issue of Angel: After the Fall that all the citizens of Los Angeles remember their time in Hell. However, it may be that the citizens of L.A. gradually forgot what happened as a result of returning from Hell, since Angel does say "And no one remembers now... but I do." Collections *"Live Through This" *Buffyverse Sampler *Angel & Faith Season Nine Library Edition, Volume 1 Pop Culture References *"Live Through This" is named after Hole's second album. *Faith compares the Plaguierous demon to Gene Simmons's tongue. *Faith mentions the surrealist director David Lynch. Gallery Exclusive Covers A09-01-00d.jpg|Rebekah Isaacs for NECRA Cover Artwork AF9-01-00b.jpg|Steve Morris main cover AngelandFaithIssue1.jpg|Jo Chen variant AF9-01-02b.jpg|Georges Jeanty special AF9-01-03b.jpg|Rebekah Isaacs exclusive Preview angel1x-wide-community.jpg 9of8.jpg angel3x-wide-community.jpg Quotes References nl:Live Through This, Deel Eén Category:Angel comics Category:Season Nine